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On Wednesday, April 17, 2019, the House Public Education Committee heard bills on a variety of topics including the donation of excess food at school, virtual schools, workplace bullying of teachers, and even the Ten Commandments.

ATPE supported several bills by registering in favor of the following:

House Bill (HB) 414 (Flynn, R-Van) would create the Teacher’s Protection Act, which includes a defense against prosecutions for actions taken in an educator’s self-defense.

HB 1394 (Bohac, R-Houston) aims to protect teachers from being sanctioned by the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) for their reasonable use of force against a student.

HB 3220 (Allison, R-San Antonio) would add licensed specialists in school psychology (LSSPs) to the definition of mental health professional and allow them to be eligible for loan repayment assistance in certain circumstances.

HB 3403 (Cortez, D-San Antonio) would require school district employment policies to include anti-bullying measures for educators, including provisions to address parents who bully teachers.

HB 3638 (Patterson, R-Frisco) would lift certain mandates on schools as identified by the Lieutenant Governor’s mandate relief working group in which ATPE participated last year.

HB 3696 (Bell, K., R-Forney) would add the number (rather than percentage) of students who complete a practicum or internship approved by the State Board of Education (SBOE) and students who complete a coherent sequence of career and technical education (CTE) courses as measures within the student achievement domain of the state’s accountability system.

HB 3882 (Wilson, R-Marble Falls) would transfer rulemaking authority from the Commissioner of Education to the University Interscholastic League (UIL) for extracurricular activity safety training programs. This is also one portion of the main mandate relief bill referenced above.

HB 3906 (Huberty, R-Kingwood) would change references to “reading” to say “language arts” in multiple sections of the law and eliminate the grade 4 and 7 writing test, but add writing to the annual language arts tests. This bill also includes provisions of Rep. Gary VanDeaver’s (R-New Boston) writing portfolio assessment pilot legislation and allows assessments to be administered in multiple parts over more than one day.

HB 3963 (Allen, D-Houston) would allow schools to elect to donate extra food to a nonprofit and includes related food safety precautions.

HB 4095 (Beckley, D-Carrollton) would require school boards to adopt a policy on custodian workloads.

HB 4096 (Beckley, D-Carrollton) would require the Texas Education Agency (TEA) to study recommended standards for school district facility maintenance and custodial services.

House Concurrent Resolution (HCR) 134 (Dutton, D-Houston) would designate the second Tuesday in October as Legislators in Schools Day, an opportunity for lawmakers to visit a classroom in their districts.

ATPE submitted written testimony against HB 1921 by Rep. Jared Patterson (R-Frisco). This bill would remove the cap on funding for full-time virtual schools by eliminating a provision that states funding is limited to programs that were operating on January 1, 2013. This provision was a key addition to the virtual school program law because it ensured that full-time virtual school programs, would neither be completely shut down nor be allowed to replicate until more data was collected on their efficacy. Since that legislation was passed, a growing body of evidence has shown that virtual schools are a poor substitute for traditional, brick-and-mortar classrooms. Therefore, ATPE opposes further expansion of virtual schools as contemplated by this bill. Read our written testimony against HB 1921 here.

The following bills were also heard by the committee on Wednesday:

HB 307 (Flynn, R-Van): States that school boards cannot prohibit the posting of the Ten Commandments in classrooms.

HB 875 (Allen, D-Houston): Would require that superintendents annually report on student restraints, complaints filed against students, citations issued to students, and student arrests. The data would be made available to the public by TEA.

HB 1017 (Martinez, D-Weslaco): Would require schools with 50% or more of students eligible for free or reduced price lunch to donate food to a nonprofit to be distributed to students at the campus.

HB 1416 (Lucio III, D-Brownsville): Would require TEA to adopt uniform general conditions for school building construction contracts.

HB 2183 (Allen, D-Houston): Would require schools to report to TEA and in the Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) on students who are released to their parents before the end of the instructional day. Parents would have access to the report.

HB 2609 (King, K., R-Canadian): Would allow school districts to assign ESL teachers to bilingual education programs if they have a shortage of bilingual education teachers. The committee substitute for the bill allows the bilingual education allotment to be used for teacher salaries and for certifying bilingual teachers in the district.

HB 2691 (VanDeaver, R-New Boston): Would require providers of online services used for a school purpose to use unique identifiers that masks student information.

HB 2797 (Hinojosa, D-Austin): Enables specialized support campuses or those that only serve students in special education to be considered separately for accountability purposes.

HB 3000 (Talarico, D-Round Rock): Would require schools to notify TEA and give written notice to parents if there is a data breach in the district involving students’ information. TEA would maintain a public database of such breaches.

HB 3132 (Allen, D-Houston): Would require that staff development for teachers who provide reading instruction in grades K-3 include training in effective instructional practices and the use of validated instructional methods.

HB 3146 (Meza, D-Irving): Would require schools to offer students a vegan breakfast and lunch option.

HB 3204 (Sanford, R-McKinney): Would prohibit the governing board or commissioners court from including more than one project in any proposition submitted to authorize the issuance of bonds.

HB 3467 (King, K., R-Canadian): Would change how School Land Board (SLB) cash is handled to try to increase the ability of the SLB and SBOE to make returns to public education. There have been recent concerns with money that the SLB and SBOE manage and invest, which ultimately makes its way into public schools.

HB 3630 (Meyer, R-Dallas): Would prohibit school district employees from engaging in dangerous techniques for student discipline, which disproportionately impact students with disabilities.

HB 3820 (Sherman, D-DeSoto): Would require (at state cost) school districts to administer one of the ACT or SAT to certain students who have taken the Algebra I or English I or II end-of-course exam (EOC).

HB 3846 (Capriglione, R-Southlake): Would require the SBOE to develop “mini-courses” on topics such as personal financial literacy, computer coding, and cybersecurity, which districts could use after assessments are administered.

HB 3141 (Swanson, R-Spring): Would prohibit a school district from having certain business interests in real estate; arts, entertainment, and recreation; or accommodation and food services.

HB 4454 (Rodriguez, D-Austin): Would require the SBOE to adopt developmentally appropriate standards for social and emotional learning and require school districts to use the standards in appropriate educational programs.

HB 4626 (Swanson, R-Spring): Would make the Harris County Department of Education subject to sunset review.

The House Public Education Committee will meet next Tuesday, April 23, at 8 am. See the agenda here, which includes a bill to make children of educators eligible for prekindergarten and a bill to ensure that public school counselors’ time is spent on core counseling duties. The committee is also expected to meet briefly on Thursday, April 18, merely for voting on pending bills.

On Tuesday, April 16, 2019, the House Public Education Committee heard bills on topics including civics education, the virtual school network, mandate relief, and accountability.

ATPE supported several bills by registering in favor of the following:

House Bill (HB) 2642 (Allison, R-San Antonio) would require the Commissioner of Education to adopt rules requiring school districts and charters to annually report Public Education Information Management System (PEIMS) data on bullying and cyberbullying incidents.

HB 3008 (Talarico, D-Round Rock) would create a civic education project fund consisting of grants, gifts, donations, or money that is appropriated, credited, or transferred at the discretion of the legislature. The fund would be used for professional development and for providing public school students in grades four and above who are economically disadvantaged a chance to complete a civic education project.

HB 3133 (Allen, D-Houston) would allow school district employees to use their personal leave for compensation on school holidays. Rep. Allen expressed that this bill is intended to help hourly employees stretch their paychecks over unpaid holidays.

HB 3521 (VanDeaver, R-New Boston): Part of a mandate relief package to eliminate outdated or redundant statutes, this bill would improve teacher retention data by using PEIMS rather than TRS data, makes technical changes to federal references regarding students who are homeless, and creates a uniform definition of homeless children and youth. The bill also removes a reporting requirement on the administration of epi-pens; includes language on notice of charter campus establishment; and strikes a June 1 deadline for instructional materials. The bill repeals TEA’s online clearinghouse of best practices, recognition of high school completion and success and college readiness programs, and energy-efficient light bulbs in instructional facilities requirements. Rep. VanDeaver stated that he may amend the bill to make its charter notification language stronger.

HB 3712 (Bucy, D-Austin) would require the State Board of Education (SBOE) to adopt rules requiring a high school student to be provided at least once with practical information about the process of voting in public elections.

ATPE provided written neutral testimony on HB 496 by Rep. Barbara Gervin-Hawkins (D-San Antonio). ATPE supports provisions in HB 496 that would help ensure student safety through a bleeding kit program in public schools. However, we are concerned with language in the bill affecting an employee’s civil liability immunity. Read ATPE’s written testimony here.

ATPE also provided written testimony against HB 429 by Rep. Matt Shaheen (R-Plano). The bill includes provisions that would expand virtual school programs. The bill would increase the cost and inefficiency of the public education system by allowing for expanded and duplicative virtual instruction. Furthermore, data show that students enrolled in full-time virtual schools regularly under-perform their peers enrolled in traditional classroom settings. Read ATPE’s written testimony here.

The following bills were also heard by the committee on Tuesday:

HB 580 (Thierry, D-Houston) outlines the ability of school districts to contract with and reimburse private employers providing career and technical education (CTE) paid internships to students using CTE funds.

HB 662 (King, K., R-Canadian) would prohibit the state from recovering money that was incorrectly delivered to schools in certain circumstances.

HB 997 (Collier, D-Fort Worth) would require most school districts and charters to conduct and publicly report on lead contamination testing every five years.

HB 2013 (Gervin-Hawkins, D-San Antonio) would allow implementation of a Commissioner or agency rule on accountability to be delayed until the second school year after its adoption.

HB 2019 (Geren, R-Fort Worth) would require school districts to send written notice to parents with a link to the sex offender database.

HB 2572 (Patterson, R-Frisco) would create a pilot program for Districts of Innovation (DOIs) to use portfolio assessment for students in 8th grade social studies and high-school U.S. History.

HB 2879 (Raney, R-Bryan) would create a competitive grant program largely for medical providers to promote early literacy.

HB 2881 (Bernal, D-San Antonio) would add another option under last session’s SB 1882 for campuses labelled as “improvement required” by infusing new resources into the campus so that it may be designated a “resource campus.” Components of the program would include re-application of teachers to work at the campus; a 300:1 student-to-counselor ratio; assignment of an effective principal; social-emotional learning; restorative discipline; class-size limits; and an accountability pause.

HB 3009 (Talarico, D-Round Rock) would require TEA to advise school districts on civics training materials and resources for educators and add civics to the social studies description in the foundation curriculum. The bill would also require TEKS for civics instruction once in grades 4-8 and as part of at least one high school course. The bill would direct the SBOE as to what must be included as part of civics education and require school districts and charters who implement this curriculum to develop a project-based civics education course.

HB 3053 (Gervin-Hawkins, D-San Antonio) would require school districts to adopt a “healthy and safe school water plan” that includes periodic lead testing and reducing exposure to lead in school water.

HB 3141 (Guillen, D-Rio Grande City) would require that the Commissioner administer the state (Virtual School Network) VSN in coordination with its administering authority and shift all costs for evaluation and approval to the administering authority. A committee substitute for the bill moves the authority from TEA to the University of Texas at Austin High School.

HB 3387 (Anchia, D-Dallas): This bill for Dallas County would abolish the dissolution committee established to abolish county boards of education or boards of county school trustees and transfer all duties and obligations of the committee to the commissioners court of the county.

HB 3628 (Goodwin, D-Austin) would require the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) to establish a special education certification.

HB 3818 (Lozano, D-Kingsville) would create a work-based learning task force to develop strategies for expanding and delivering youth or adult apprenticeships or internships that provide paid work experience and corresponding classroom instruction.

HB 3836 (Bell, K., R-Forney) would require rather than allow school districts to consider using open educational resources.

HB 4270 (Wu, D-Houston) would allow a municipal management district to provide public education facilities as part of the long list of improvement projects or services they can provide.

HB 4342 (Clardy, R-Nacogdoches) would change the composition of the board of directors of the Texas School Safety Center to include a professional architect and three rather than two members of the public.

HB 4480 (Meza, D-Irving) would require the commissioner to establish a task force to study the utility, efficacy, and feasibility of art therapy to improve the mental health of students in public and higher education.

HJR 112 (King, T., R-Uvalde) would allow Webb County to enter into an agreement with the school districts for which the county holds lands in trust.

On Wednesday, April 17, the House Public Education Committee will meet again to hear bills after the House chamber meets. The committee will also vote out several bills, so stay tuned!

The Senate Education Committee met today in its final interim hearing before kicking off the legislative session in 2019. The agenda included a discussion on mandate relief and innovation as well as an update on the implementation of two bills pertaining, respectively, to the Pathways in Technology Early College High School (P-TECH) program and educator misconduct.

The committee spent the majority of their time on the mandate relief discussion, which was guided by the following interim charge:

The invited panel of witnesses primarily included members of a work group convened this year by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick. The group was tasked with agreeing to changes to the Texas Education Code that provided mandate relief or innovation. The group consisted of a variety of education stakeholders, including ATPE, and ultimately agreed upon 20 recommendations (only unanimously agreed upon recommendations were advanced) for the 86th Legislature to consider in 2019.

The group’s work included considerations on data reporting, school operations, teacher quality, and classroom conduct, among other categories. The work did not include mandate discussions related to accountability or assessments. The official work group report will be released soon.

Regarding the innovation piece of the charge, ATPE member Aletha Williams testified in her capacity as a Teach Plus Texas fellow. She spoke about the importance of quality mentoring programs for teachers, saying that “when teachers receive quality mentoring at the beginning of their teaching career, they are much more likely to stay in the profession and become highly qualified educators.” While Texas has seen mentoring programs in the past, such a state-wide, funded program would currently be a new and welcomed addition.

The committee also monitored the implementation of last year’s Senate Bill (SB) 22 pertaining to the P-TECH program and SB 7 regarding inappropriate relationships between students and educators. The Texas Education Agency (TEA) offered invited testimony on the educator misconduct piece, saying the number of reports has risen since SB 7 was enacted, and increasing the reporting was the intent of the legislation. TEA also highlighted the issue of uncertified educators, which are on the rise due to laws like Districts of Innovation that enable many districts to exempt themselves from requirements to hire certified teachers. TEA and the State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) lack jurisdiction over these uncertified school employees when it comes to sanctioning inappropriate relationships and other educator misconduct. Some senators again raised their desire for a “Do Not Hire Registry,” confirming a bill to implement such a registry would be filed in the upcoming session.

Bayless Elementary teacher Holly Guillmen identifies and explains the use of the contents of the Waterwise home water conservation kit provided to students by the High Plains Underground Water District in Lubbock, Texas, Oct. 17, 2012. Photo by Jerod Foster

There’s a truism in Texas politics: Little good happens in Austin after May.

That’s why our founders assigned the Texas Legislature only one task – to pass a state budget – and limited their ability to meet to just 140 days every other year.

As a failsafe in the event of catastrophe, the founders entrusted the governor with the power to call legislators back under “extraordinary occasions.” Examples noted in the Texas Constitution are the presence of a public enemy or a need to appoint presidential electors.

Nowhere does it mention attacking teachers, schools, or political enemies merely to score points heading into the next election cycle.

We’ve just wrapped up one of the most bitter and divisive legislative sessions in recent memory. Friendships were strained, and the good of the state took a backseat to questionable “priorities” outlined by our radio host-turned-lieutenant governor, Dan Patrick.

Yet thanks to the refusal of Texas House members to abandon the voters who sent them to Austin, some of the worst proposals never came to fruition. For example, lawmakers said no to vouchers for unregulated private schools because most Texans oppose spending tax dollars that way and want the state to support our existing public schools. Over and over, House members voted against subsidizing exclusive private tuition in places like Dallas with taxes collected from hardworking families in rural communities like Lubbock.

Also, the House offered improvements to the “A through F” accountability system and a $1.6 billion increase in education funding that the Senate turned down in favor of pursuing Lt. Gov. Patrick’s pet causes. Angered by the failure of his potty police and other crusades, Patrick even held a medical board sunset bill hostage at the end of the session, and now he has received his wish to force a special session.

Those hoping Gov. Greg Abbott would ignore the partisan cries and focus instead on truly “extraordinary” government needs in this upcoming called session are disappointed.

Announcing what promises to be the mother of all special sessions, the governor began by teasing a teacher pay raise – but refusing to fund it. ATPE supports increased pay, but without appropriations for school districts that will be forced to accommodate this, it’s hard to see the governor’s proposal as anything other than an unfunded mandate intended to soften the blow of other unnecessary anti-teacher and anti-public education legislation on the special session call.

This 30-day, taxpayer-funded special session will reopen angry fights over vouchers and other bad bills that failed to pass during the 140-day regular session. They include a shameful attack on teachers that would curtail their ability to voluntarily join professional associations like ATPE by using payroll deduction for membership fees. Falsely marketed as an attack on unions and a way to save taxpayer resources, the legislation actually protects Abbott’s and Patrick’s favored unions — police, firefighters, and first responders — while singling out teachers to strip them of the rights enjoyed by other public employees.

Imagine that: Telling teachers they can’t be trusted with their own paychecks while reaching into all our wallets to fund another crack at their own pet political projects.

This special session outline is a slap in the face to teachers and public schools at a time when they are being asked to do more with less. The founders knew what they were doing. Texans should be wary of what happens in Austin after the regular session adjourns in May.

On Tuesday, Gov. Greg Abbott announced his plans for a special session beginning July 18. This “overtime” period for the 85th legislature is needed only because lawmakers failed to pass an important, time-sensitive agency sunset bill that affects the licensing of medical professionals, a failure many are attributing to deliberate stall tactics and the “bill kidnapping” approach taken by Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in the final week of the regular session. Lawmakers could address the sunset issue within a matter of days and head home to enjoy the dog days of summer with their families, but Abbott is calling on them to take up 19 additional issues during the 30-day special session, which is estimated to cost taxpayers about $1 million.

During the governor’s press conference, he led off his laundry list of topics for the upcoming special session with a surprise announcement that he wants lawmakers to mandate a $1,000 annual pay raise for teachers. The catch, as ATPE Lobbyist Mark Wiggins explains in this blog post, is that no additional money would be appropriated for the salary increase. Gov. Abbott made it clear that he intends for school districts to find money within their existing budgets to cover the proposed pay raise. For many districts, that would necessitate cuts in some other area, which would very likely be expenditures for staff pay or benefits, such as healthcare programs that are already becoming increasingly hard for educators to afford. ATPE Lobbyist Monty Exter added in this video for Twitter that potential offsets could include staff layoffs or higher class sizes, depending on each district’s financial circumstances and priorities.

If the governor planned to use this special session as another shot at meaningful school finance reform, then perhaps legislators could find ways to fund a teacher pay raise and other critical needs of our public schools. Unfortunately, the only school finance-related issue on the governor’s call is legislation to appoint a statewide commission to study school finance during the next interim.

Another surprise topic added to the governor’s agenda for the special session is giving districts greater “flexibility” in their hiring and firing decisions. Teacher contract rights have been targeted in prior legislative sessions, but the topic was hardly broached during the 2017 legislative session.

ATPE representatives testified against an anti-educator bill to eliminate teachers’ payroll deduction rights during the regular session. The contentious issue is being revived for the upcoming special session.

The remaining school-related items in the special session outline are a trio of controversial, highly partisan scorecard issues from bills that failed to garner enough support to pass during the regular session:

One is the anti-educator legislation to do away with teachers’ rights to pay their voluntary professional association dues using payroll deduction. In Tuesday’s press conference, Gov. Abbott revived tired rhetoric from his Jan. 2017 State of the State address that has already been proven false – the claim that taxpayer dollars are being spent to collect “union dues.” We will continue to refute this unfounded claim and fight this harmful, unnecessary measure aimed at silencing educators’ voices by making it more difficult for them to join associations like ATPE.

Also on tap for this legislative overtime is yet another push for private school vouchers for students with special needs. With the Texas House of Representatives having already voted multiple times to reject this idea, it is hard to fathom a sudden change of heart that would give this legislation a greater chance of passing during the special session.

Lastly, the governor is also asking lawmakers again to try to restrict local school districts’ adoption of policies on bathroom usage. Both chambers passed versions of a bathroom bill during the regular session, but they could not agree on the extent to which the state should infringe on local control over these decisions. In other words, get ready for even more potty talk.

To read the full list of the governor’s priorities for the special session, view ATPE Lobbyist Kate Kuhlmann’s blog post here. Also, check out ATPE’s press release, and be sure to follow @TeachtheVote on Twitter for new developments.

The State Board for Educator Certification (SBEC) has been meeting today in Austin, and ATPE Lobbyist Kate Kuhlmann is there. She provided an update in this blog post on the items being discussed today by the board. They include plans to add a new early childhood teaching certificate mandated by the legislature recently, plus how Districts of Innovation are claiming exemptions from certification laws.

At issue: Research shows that smaller classes improve education by increasing the interaction between teachers and individual students, minimizing discipline issues, improving classroom management, boosting teacher morale and producing dramatically better educational outcomes for students. Studies have linked a rise in scores on the National Assessment of Educational Progress (NAEP) to reductions in class size, especially after class-size limits were first adopted in Texas. State law limits classrooms in grades K-4 to no more than 22 students per teacher. However, the law allows schools to request waivers of the 22:1 class-size limit if they have limited facilities, a shortage of teachers or an unexpected surge in enrollment. Although the law has been tightened and made more transparent in recent years, thousands of schools still routinely request class-size waivers each year.

Class-size limits are a necessary and worthwhile expenditure: It costs money to keep classes small, and class-size limits are unpopular among politicians who want to cut education spending wherever possible. Larger classes often require less physical space and fewer teachers. That’s why class size is usually one of the first quality control measures sacrificed whenever money is limited. Immediately after the drastic education budget cuts of 2011, the number of 22:1 class-size waiver requests more than tripled.

Students deserve more one-on-one instructional time with their teachers, a distraction-free classroom and, above all else, a safe learning environment: Opponents of class-size limits typically argue that school districts should have more “flexibility” and “mandate relief” so that they can staff and fill classrooms as they see fit. They also insist that high-quality teachers should be able to successfully teach a greater number of students. Critics of 22:1 tend to ignore the fact that class size affects not only instruction but also student safety and classroom discipline. Consider the many sad incidents of school shootings reported in the news and the heroic acts of many teachers involved. When teachers are tasked with keeping their students safe, even in potentially life-threatening situations, do we want their classes to be larger or smaller? Despite the obvious safety issue, legislators continue to try to weaken or abolish the 22:1 law every legislative session.

You can help educators and students by voting for candidates who respect the importance of class-size limits: Teach the Vote has many resources to help you find pro-public education candidates. For instance, ATPE asked all legislative candidates in a survey, “Would you vote to maintain a hard cap on the number of students per class, or should school administrators be given more flexibility to increase class sizes?” You can read their responses by visiting our 2014 Racessearchpage, looking up the candidates in your district and opening the Survey Response section in each candidate’s profile. Don’t forget that the early voting period continues through Friday, and election day is March 4.